Undercover drug sting nets 38

Cocaine, heroin sold to officers, police say

Thirty-eight people have been arrested as part of a nearly year-long undercover drug operation undertaken by the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Greg Champagne said that the 38 people arrested were booked with a total of 69 charges. The arrests took place over the past three months.

The undercover operation spanned eight months and resulted in charges for the illegal sale of drugs such as cocaine, Xanax, heroin, morphine and crack cocaine.

"There has long been a correlation between drug sales and property crimes in St. Charles Parish," Champange said. "Upon putting the drug dealers behind bars, it was not surprising when the property crime rates decreased."

The Sheriff’s Office says the arrests were spread out over a three-month period in an effort to evenly distribute cases within the three different court divisions so that none of the divisions were overburdened.

Additional subjects are also wanted, but have not yet been located.

The Herald-Guide will print a full list of those arrested online with this news story at www.heraldguide.com.